The cavalry played a significant role in the life of the Presidio for more than 150 years, from 1776, when the first horse-mounted soldiers arrived with the Spanish army until the 1940s when the Presidio sold the last of its horses following World War II. In the early part of the century, cavalry soldiers trained at the Presidio before shipping out to fight the war in the Philippines. Later, they would protect the state’s newly created national parks, Yosemite and King’s Canyon.

Home for the cavalry soldiers of the time was a two-story, wood-frame barracks up the hill from the stables. Now, work is beginning on a complete and total rehabilitation of the 107-year old building. The project is expected to be completed by the middle of October.

“It’s a wonderful, rich building with a lot of character,” says Rob Wallace, an architect with the Presidio Trust. “Unlike a lot of buildings that have undergone similar rehabilitations, this building’s pretty much in tact. We’re really taking it back to the 1902 plan.”